A Final Unity
by Orphan51
Summary: A Novelization of the TNG Game by Spectrum Holobyte While on routine patrol of the Romulan neutral zone, the Enterprise intercepts a distress signal from the crew of a Garidian scout ship, seeking asylum in Federation space. Moving to help puts the Crew of the Enterprise on a galaxy spanning adventure involving an ancient mystery and a quest for a powerful device and it's creators
1. Prologue

Star Trek: The Next Generation  
"A Final Unity" 

Author Note: Given that the game has multiple paths and dialogue branches, I am novelizing my own play-through of the game  
I will also include some off screen moments which are not shown in the game itself but is a part of the story such as the attack on Mertens Orbital Station

Prologue  
"Captain's Log – Stardate 47111.1  
A Federation Listening Post has detected an unidentified vessel heading for Federation Space, the Enterprise is moving to intercept"  
Things were calm and professional on the Enterprise as it raced for the border at high warp, The Unknown Vessel could be friend or foe and the crew knew this and maintained their renowned demeanour  
The obvious exception to this was Lieutenant Commander Data who being an android simply accepted the situation with the passive emotionless he was known for, turning from the Ops console he reported "Based on current heading and velocity, the Vessel will enter Federation Space in approximately 47.3 seconds" The fact that Data's estimate was so precise made the Captain of the Enterprise wonder if Data genuinely was approximating, had the android been human Picard would have thought he was trying to avoid showing off but now was not the time to dwell on such things  
he had a ship to command and a crew to protect "Go to Yellow Alert" this command brought the Enterprise's shields online but not its weapons, if anything Yellow Alert was for a Captain hedging his bets on an approaching situation  
Before Picard could follow up, the gruff voice of the Enterprise's tactical officer Lieutenant Worf sounded behind "We have the Vessel on sensors" the Enterprise's viewscreen then switched from star streaked space to that a small craft with flickering running lights, a common indicator of power troubles, the craft strongly resembled a Romulan Vessel to Picard but before he could even voice the thought his number one Commander Riker looking at the sensor readings said to him "Ship is a Garidian Scoutship, they are driving their engines too hard, their warp core is critical" The Garidians was a name not often heard by Federation Officers, their name usually only being used in some essay or debate about the larger Romulan Star Empire, as knowledgable as he was even Captain Picard couldn't claim to know much of the Garidians only of their links to the Romulans  
"The Garidians? What is the status of their relationship with the Romulan Empire?" Riker merely shrugged as he said "They are on friendly terms and may share technology" any further discussion on this point was cut off by Worf announcing "We are being hailed Captain" Picard's only thought was that it was time to get some answers "On Screen" The Viewscreen switched much more but this time to a screen of pure static, whatever visual equipment was on the scoutship was either damaged or destroyed... not a good sign either way...  
A female voice sounded out through the static "Help us Static Crackle We are fleeing political persecution, we seek asylum! We are being...Static Crackle" The transmission then cut off as the Scoutship's running lights dimmed to a very low level, so much so Picard and the others might have said they were off completely if sensors hadn't showed otherwise, but for Picard the situation had just gotten more complicated as the Scoutship's crew had uttered the magic word – Asylum  
turning to Riker for advice as on the viewscreen the Scoutship began to slowly grind to a halt  
"What do you make of this number one?" Riker looked sceptical "It could be a trick?" Picard had to consider that possibility anyone connected to a star empire than ran on shadows, stealth and deception as much as the Empire did could very well have set this whole thing up  
However that fear was very much allayed by Lieutenant Worf's declaration of "The Garidians have earned their reputation as honourable warriors Captain, they do not ordinarily resort to trickery" high praise indeed coming from a Klingon Picard thought, the final end to this race to the border came as Data announced "The Garidians warp drive is failing, they are dropping to sublight speed inside Federation Space" Picard absorbed that fact, no matter what now the Garidians had succeeded and crossed the line leaving Picard little options "Slow to Impulse" The Enterprise decelerated from Warp speed and took up a position directly in front of the Scoutship, it wasn't as if the ship would be able to go any farther but Picard was making sure...  
He was shaken from his thoughts by lieutenant Worf's loud announcement "Warbid Decloaking directly ahead!" everyone thought the same thing Romulans but as the large Warbird appeared out of thin air behind the Scoutship it was decorated in the colours of the Garidians...  
"The Warbird is also Garidian Captain, they are hailing us" before Picard could say anything a white haired woman appeared on the viewscreen "This is an internal Garidian Matter you will withdraw at once!" Picard couldn't believe it, this was either astounding arrogance or something far deeper, keeping his cool he replied "You are violating federation sp-" The Viewscreen went back to the two ships as Worf said "They have cut the transmission"  
As if to punctuate that point a light blue beam emitted from the Warbird and locked on to the scoutship "The Warbird has locked a tractor beam onto the scoutship" It was this act that left Picard with no choice  
"Go to Red Alert"


	2. Chapter 1 - Asylum

Chapter 1 – Asylum  
The Warbird held the Scout ship in it's tractor beam like a bird clutching it's prey, on the bridge of the Enterprise the viewscreen was taken up by the sight and for Captain Picard it represented a potential interstellar incident  
"Captain's Log – Supplemental – A Garidian Warbird has violated the Neutral Zone in pursuit of a Scout ship, the fugitives may have been seeking political asylum but as yet we have been unable to confirm their intentions"  
Picard motioned to Lieutenant Worf "Hail the Warbird" Maybe diplomacy would win out but the Viewscreen didn't change from it's current view "They are not responding"  
The situation could go from bad to catastrophic in a heartbeat if it wasn't dealt with carefully but first Picard had to decide what to do about the crew of the Scout Ship  
It was clear they were intending to request assistance or asylum before being cut off but as long as that tractor beam was on them it was impossible for the Enterprise to communicate with them  
Picard knew all of the bridge crew were analysing the situation in their own ways from the ever logical patterns followed by Data to the tactical challenges pondered by Worf  
Each of the crew was unique in their thoughts and it was that uniqueness that Picard was counting on now  
"What do you think Number One?" Riker's brow creased in thought for a moment before he finally replied "The Garidians respect strength, if we show any sign of weakness, it might just encourage them to fight" Picard remembered Worf's earlier description of the Garidians as being Honourable Warriors, if that was true then maybe Riker had a point  
"What do you suggest?" Riker nodded his head back towards Tactical "Maybe we can use our phasers till they listen to reason" Picard was wary of that option, even with the provocation provided he didn't want to outright fire upon the Warbird unless he had too but even simply locking on to the Warbird with the Enterprise's weapons arrays could be a prelude to a fight

"I don't want to provoke them Number One" The words left Picard's mouth but in his mind he wasn't entirely sure that a non violent solution was forthcoming "Mr Worf your analysis?"  
The Klingon didn't even hesitate in his response, as Picard expected the Klingon Officer had already analysed the situation "The Garidian Warbird is similar to the Romulan D'deridex class, It is less manoeuvrable than the Enterprise but has slightly more firepower" Riker followed through with his original idea and reluctantly concluded "We'd both take a beating if it came down to a fight"  
Worf didn't comment on this but simply continued by saying "Our records have identified the Warbird as the Asiram commanded by Captain Pentara, Starfleet Intelligence rates her as a capable but unimaginative tactician" Worf fell silent after this but even his battle thirst inherent to the Klingon Race knew that the Enterprise and the Asiram could go head to head but it would come down to the wire which vessel would survive the encounter  
Picard was aware that the time was ticking by and he was still no closer to knowing what to do  
He briefly wondered if Captain Pentara was having a similar discussion aboard her own ship  
with both vessel's shields up neither side could claim the scout ship's crew but Pentara had the upper hand only as far as the tractor beam but even with that on her side she couldn't make a further move since the Scout Ship had in fact crossed the Neutral Zone into the Federation  
Picard turned to Troi next, his ever trusty Betazoid counsellor had seen him through far more situations and emotional turmoil than most and her insights were often wise and compelling  
"Counsellor do you have any insights?" Troi sitting down next to the Captain's chair reached out with her empathic senses for a moment "The Garidian Captain is torn about something... as if she were faced with a difficult dilemma" Picard felt himself become stern for a moment "She has violated the Neutral Zone!" Troi remained ever calm "It's more than that, I think she has a personal stake in this matter" Picard pondered what the personal stake could be that would cause someone to take a ship of war and cross the Neutral Zone and potentially start a interstellar incident that could lead Garid and the Federation to war  
There was only one person left on the bridge now to consider  
"Mr Data do you have any suggestions?" the Android cocked his head to the side while he considered the situation, his positronic brain racing through hundreds of variables and outcomes before arriving at the most apt suggestion  
"As long as the Warbird maintains a tractor beam on the scout ship we cannot beam it's crew aboard however if we manoeuvred the Enterprise between the ships we could temporarily disrupt the tractor beam" The plan was sound except for the one detail that Lieutenant Worf voice "We will have to drop our shields to use the Transporter" Picard now had a new dilemma risk the lives of all aboard the Enterprise in the hope that the Asiram and Pentara didn't fire during the attempt or try a new plan  
Reluctantly Picard came to an answer "We'll have to take that risk, Make it so"  
The Enterprise on a burst of impulse surged forwards towards the Asiram and turned as she arced between the two ships, the tractor beam was broken as it locked on to the Enterprise instead of the scout ship "We have broken the Garidian's tractor beam"  
in that exact same moment, the Enterprise's shields dropped in order for the lives of all aboard the small vessel to be beamed aboard before the Enterprise finished her arc causing the tractor beam to lock back on to the now empty scout ship and the Enterprise returned to her starting position  
Picard gave a small smile as the advantage now changed from Pentara to him  
Data checked a readout from his console confirming what they all knew "The Crew of the Scout ship has been beamed aboard"  
The Tactical console then chimed out a familiar tone "Captain the Warbird is hailing us" Now they wanted to try communication Picard thought as he gave his shirt a tug "On screen"  
The Viewscreen changed from the vessels and revealed the white haired woman from before...

Captain Pentara  
"Federation starship, this is an internal Garidian matter, you've been warned not to interfere" the statement was rather matter of fact, there was no emotion or threat behind it if anything the opinion Picard had formed was that Pentara genuinely believed that the Enterprise was interfering in internal matters of Garid and the fact that they were in Federation space was meaningless, time to press that point a bit further  
"Your presence gives me every right to interfere, why have you violated the Neutral Zone?" Pentara's face immediately turned serious as if she was finally getting that the Enterprise wasn't going to leave, she motioned off screen and Worf's console immediately chimed again "They are locking their disruptors on us" Pentara was upping the ante and she gave a slight smile to Picard as if suddenly changing her tone "Captain, you are harbouring dangerous criminals, I demand that you transfer them to my custody immediately" Picard didn't doubt Pentara's words or at least he didn't doubt that Pentara believed them, nevertheless if they were criminals there was an easy solution for all this "Our Garidian Guests were rescued in Federation Space, any extradition will have to proceed along normal diplomatic channels" Pentara was quicker in her response to that suggestion "You know that there is no formal extradition treaty between our governments" Pentara's face then softened for a moment and Picard knew that something had touched a nerve on the Garidian Captain  
"Captain... one of the criminals is my son Avakar, Return them to me and I swear they will all receive a fair trial" Picard then realized this was the personal stake that Troi had alluded too...  
If Pentara's son was indeed on board the Enterprise it could explain why the Asiram and her Captain was so determined to take the actions she had, one thing was certain Picard had to determine if Pentara's Son could help end this  
"Give me a moment to speak with my Garidian Guests" Pentara disappeared from the screen and was replaced by the ships once more "I want to speak to Avakar" Picard said to Worf, the Klingon nodded and tracked where in the Enterprise Avakar was  
"I have him on the intercom" as soon as the channel opened Picard started quickly "Avakar, the Captain of the Warbird claims to be your mother, she wants to take you and your companions to stand trial on Garid" there was an audible sigh before a Garidian voice replied " _Pentara is my mother Captain but the Garidian Ruling Council listens to no one, they don't want the people to hear our message of change, even if Pentara convinces them to spare me, my Companions would never live to stand trial, we request political asylum_ " and there the magic words had been spoken and Picard was now bound in his options "Very Well, you may stay aboard the Enterprise till we have sorted this matter out" he then motioned to the viewscreen where Pentara came back once more  
"Your son has requested political asylum, he and his companions will remain on board the Enterprise you will return to Garidian Space immediately" the look of defeat didn't appear on Pentara's face but what did appear was a mixture of sadness, acceptance and determination "Very well, you have won this time Captain but I promise you there will be a next time" Pentara's face faded away once more and the Warbird turned and moved off "The Warbird is heading back towards Garidian space, they are activating their cloaking device" Picard let out the breath he didn't realize he was holding as Worf spoke, Pentara was gone and disaster was averted but Worf continued reminding Picard of what was left to deal with  
"Captain our new arrivals are requesting to speak with you, their names are Lucana, Avakar and T'Bak" Picard looked back to the conference room where his guests where "Get me Avakar again"  
Given that Avakar was the first one he talked too and helped somewhat resolve the situation it made sense to start with him but as the intercom activated once more Picard was struck by a simple question "Why is your own mother trying to kill you?" no pleasantries or thanks just that  
" _She is only doing her duty, I know she doesn't want to kill me but she is under orders to stop Lucana from finding the Lawgiver's Fifth Scroll_ " Fifth Scroll? First time I have heard that today Picard mused "What is this Fifth Scroll you mentioned ?" Avakar sounded hesitant at this " _T'Bak is our historian, Im sure he can explain it to you much better than I can_ " Picard wasn't sure what this trio were up to yet but having only spoken to Avakar, he had determined that some sort of scroll had brought together a historian, a revolutionary and a man whose own mother crossed into Federation space to capture or kill him "Why are you interested in this Fifth Scroll" Avakar's hesitation vanished and was replaced by vigour " _Because I believe in Lucana's crusade, even though I was born a patrican Lucana has made me aware of the Plebeians suffering, the Fifth Scroll would give them a more honourable place in Garidian Society_ " This all sounded rather complex and far more than what a Starship Captain should have to deal with, it sounded more like the entire issue was as Pentara thought a Garidian Internal Matter  
There was one person who could confirm that line of thought "Avakar put Lucana on" Avakar's voice faded away and was replaced by a shrill woman's " _Captain Picard, my name is Lucana on behalf of the oppressed underclasses of Garid, i'd like to thank you for rescuing us_ " Lucana sounded like she was going to be trouble like Pentara was, perhaps a stern reminder of what they had done might bring her down a peg or two "Don't thank me too quickly, you have illegally entered Federation Space and this ship is not a haven for criminals" Lucana took offense quickly " _I am not a criminal Captain! I am only seeking justice for my people_ " Picard frowned for a moment and thought it best to shelve this discussion for a moment "Very well you may stay aboard the Enterprise until we have sorted this matter out" Just as he was about to terminate the intercom, Lucana's frantic voice filled the air " _Do not dismiss me so quickly Captain, the Fate of all Garid is hanging in the balance!_ " That got Picard's attention "Why do you say that?" Lucana continued in her manner as she said " _I am searching for the Fifth Scroll, it's the only way to give the Plebeians the freedom they deserve"_ Lucana was definitely a revolutionary and a firebrand at that  
She was on this crusade come hell or high water and she was not going to be stopped by anything  
But for Picard, information was going to be the most important asset here "Who are the Plebeians?" He had heard the name several times now but still wasn't sure what it meant, Lucana bitterly responded " _They are the underclasses of Garid forced by Law to serve the Patricians their masters for the past one thousand years_ " Lucana then pre-empted Picard's next question by continuing " _Finding the Fifth Scroll will free my people from tyranny because the scroll gives the rights to the Plebeians, Garid's lower classes that's why the Government doesn't dare let me succeed!_ " This woman was fiery and determined to her cause and Picard wasn't about to tell her that the Federation couldn't interfere in Garid's domestic politics, "If you excuse me I have other duties to tend to perhaps we can speak again later" He allowed the intercom to go dead for a moment in order to catch his breath before an elderly calm voice came through " _Captain Picard can you help us contact a Vulcan archaeologist called Shanok? He may possibly hold the key to finding the Lawgiver's Fifth Scroll_ " this was T'Bak the historian as Picard recalled, his voice was calm and hopefully this was the person to diffuse this tension between the guests and the Enterprise at the very least it would be informative, Picard had a certain love of history and archaeology after all  
"What is this Fifth Scroll you mentioned?" T'Bak seemed pleased to tell him the answer like a tour guide in a museum " _Let me give you a bit of background Garidian Society is a rigid structure consisting of two distinct classes – the Patricians and the Plebeians, for the past one thousand years that structure has been governed by the laws derived from the four sacred scrolls – The First Scroll outlines our code of honour, the second outlines the relationship between our military and government, the third defines the principles of our religion and the fourth enumerates the privileges and responsibilities of the patrician class_ " Intriguing Picard thought as he absorbed the information still that was only four scrolls and all this seemingly started over a fifth "But you speak of another scroll?" He was hoping to get some answers from T'Bak that Lucana and Avakar didn't give him and it seemed that T'Bak was happy to engage " _According to Legend, The Lawgiver also wrote a Fifth Scroll defining the rights and privileges of the Plebeian class which were not explained in the other scrolls_ " Well that explained Lucana's fiery determination if this legend turned out to be true  
If the scroll existed as T'Bak seemed to indicate it would give Lucana's crusade meaning "What makes you think that Shanok can help you?" The question hopefully would get to the point " _My studies indicate that the Followers ended up somewhere in what is now Federation Space but because our governments were not on friendly terms I could never follow up on that research but the Vulcan Shanok lives in the Federation and has made great studies of our history, I believe he may have vital information that will help us locate the Followers_ " T'Bak seemed too different to from Lucana to be a revolutionary, so why was he with her? "Why are you so interested in this fifth scroll" Picard could almost imagine the old man smiling at that " _I am a Scholar Captain, my interest are purely academic, Lucana on the other hand is a social revolutionary she hopes the scroll will inflame the underclasses to rebellion_ " as if sensing Picard's train of thought T'Bak continued with " _The Patricians stopped the Lawgiver before he could reveal his Fifth Scroll, the Lawgiver and a few of his disciples known as the followers left Garid in five ships to start their own colony.. no trace of them was ever found and the story gradually took on mythic proportions_ " Picard's interest was piqued for sure now, this could be a great historical discovery if true but it would be one that could change Garid forever for better or for worse  
Still Picard couldn't deny this would be an intriguing quest as he quickly thought over the situation  
eventually he decided "I have decided to visit Shanok and see if he can help you with your Fifth Scroll" T'Bak sighed happily at that " _Thank you for agreeing to visit Shanok Captain, this could be the greatest social discovery in Garid's history_ " Picard didn't disagree merely replying "Understood we will be underway at once, I shall let you know when we arrive" The intercom went dead, no doubt Lucana was smiling to heaven as she had now gotten a Federation starship roped into her crusade but as Picard knew when it came to some things, the present isn't what matters but rather the past "Computer where are the current whereabouts of the Vulcan Archaeologist Shanok?"  
The Computer of the Enterprise was effective and instant " _According to the Federation Archaeological Survey Records, Shanok is currently excavating ruins on the Planet Horst III_ "  
Picard nodded and moved back to sit in his chair "Set course for Horst III Warp 5"


	3. Interval 01 - Surgical Strike

Author's note – The Interval's are off screen moments and thus purely my interpretation of what might have happened had the game shown it 

Interval 01 – Surgical Strike

The sleek alien vessel exited warp not far from the Mertens Orbital Station,  
The inhabitants on the station and on Cymkoe IV had no idea of the ship's existence or it's intent  
On board the station life was continuing normally unaware of the disaster that was about to unfold  
Commander Wilde wandered the main administration deck of the station with a cup of coffee to hand and one of the admin staff in sight "I heard Griems is complaining about the lack of resources again?" Griems was the station's top scientist and had the brain to back it up unfortunately he also had the personality of a jagged rock and didn't care if everyone knew it  
The ensign turned from his console "Yes sir, he's down tinkering with the core and has submitted a list he wants sent up from the planet" Wilde shook his head with a smile "Chancellor Daenub will be pleased i'm sure" the ensign didn't reply as Wilde took a sip of his coffee "Any other news to report before shift change?" the Ensign checked his console and handed a PADD to Wilde "Nothing out of the ordinary"  
Wilde took the PADD and gave it a cursory look "I see those finds of Shanok are finally all processed, should get something to report back to him soon, I didn't think a Vulcan could get impatient but he is asking for results" as this friendly exchange took place the ship outside Mertens got closer as it prepared for it's mission, A check of it's systems told the vessel that the Station's sensors and the Planet's both failed to detect it and it was still protected by it's chameleon field  
The vessel made a pass of the station taking no action and arced back on itself, this time as it approached the station it fired it's front weapon arrays puncturing the shields of the station as if they didn't exist  
The station shook violently sending both Wilde and the Ensign to the floor, the cup of coffee shattering as it hit the deckplate "Report!" Wilde shouted as he got himself up, the Ensign scrambled to the console "Shields intact but hull integrity is down 10%!" the station shook again "What's hitting us!" Wilde got to one of the console and accessed the sensors "Nothing?" How could nothing be attacking when we have damage he thought to himself as the station shuddered once more  
The attacking vessel then circled once more before stopping in front of the station's mid section, a thin energy beam emerged from the ship and began slicing into the hull...  
The station creaked and shuddered under the assault "Something's cutting into the hull! Research Wing is critical!" the Ensign's frantic cries as he relayed the information told Wilde all he needed to know, an invisible force was attacking Mertens orbital station and had no intention of peace "Evacuate that section quickly! Site to Site transport if you have to!" the Ensign nodded and began quickly moving his hands over the console to try and follow the order  
Outside the station the vessel continued it's ''surgery'' as the Research Wing containing the finds of Shanok was cleanly cut into by the energy beam  
The Station's systems all flashed warning signs and reports as the Research Wing began buckling under the stress "The Research Wing is coming apart! It's being cut from the Station!"  
Wilde looked in panic as the Station's hull began sealing itself against the now removed sections  
The Research Wing of Mertens Orbital Station came loose from the central structure and began drifting loose awaiting an unknown fate...  
"Sir the Research Wing... it's gone" The Ensign just looked at the Commander as he reported the loss "Did we get everyone?" the Ensign nodded "Mostly sir..."  
Wilde shook his head and sadly touched the Ensign on the shoulder "Get to the escape pods ensign" The ensign's eyes went wide "Sir?" Wilde pointed at the display of the station "We can't defend ourselves against a ghost son, we've lost one wing and I won't lose anyone else, we're abandoning the station" He tapped a comm panel "All hands this is Commander Wilde abandon station, I repeat all hands to the escape pods, abandon station" The ensign got up and ran to the door of the administration center and looked back "Commander?" Wilde looked sorrowful at the loss of his command before turning and joining the Ensign  
Within minutes Escape Pods began peeling off from the station and began raining down on the planet of Cymkoe IV leaving the Mertens Orbital Station behind at the mercy of it's ghost 


	4. Chapter 2 - Orbital Mystery

Chapter 2 – Orbital Mystery  
The Enterprise's warp drive propelled it at faster than light speeds towards Horst III where hopefully Shanok would able to help it's Garidian Guests with their quest for the Fifth Scroll  
On board the bridge of the Galaxy class starship everything was at it should be  
The Garidians were safely tucked away in the guest quarters of the ship where they could pose no trouble and the events of their rescue now behind them  
if he was honest Captain Picard was looking most forward to speaking to Shanok, as a fellow archaeologist Picard would love to swap finds with one of the finest minds of the Federation  
"Captain we are receiving an emergency transmission from Cymkoe IV" Worf announced as his tactical panel beeped, Picard frowned slightly as he tried to recall the name "Cymkoe IV? Isn't there a research center there?" Data was the one to answer now, he mostly likely took less than a second to bring up the entire history of Cymkoe IV in his mind to have at hand "Yes Sir, The work at Mertens Orbital Station focuses on power generation, the researchers there are among the best in the Federation" Picard nodded as it confirmed what he vaguely remembered about the planet, standing up and tugging on his shirt he nodded to Worf "On screen" Worf brought up the transmission on screen, a man in a green uniform and purple long tendril like hair appeared on the screen "This is Captain Jean Luc Picard of the Federation Starship Enterprise, How can we be of help?" The man looked almost relieved that someone had answered his call "Captain Picard, I am Daenub chancellor of Cymkoe, we are in need of immediate assistance Mertens Orbital Station has been attacked by an unknown vessel and does not answer our hails" that took Picard by surprise "attacked? But the station is a purely scientific facility"  
Riker stepped up beside him "Is the attacking vessel still present?" Daenub looked concerned as he said matter of factly "We do not know, whatever or whoever they were, our sensors did not detect them" Worf immediately growled quietly "Perhaps it was a cloaked Romulan Vessel" Picard frowned at that "I doubt the Romulans would venture this far into Federation Territory, the risks are too great" Daenub cut in before any further discussion could take place, he was now looking more worried "Captain you must hurry, The attack has destabilized the station's experimental power core, we don't know how long we have until a core breach but I can tell you the resulting energy release and radiation would be catastrophic" Riker didn't like what that would mean for the crew of the station "What about survivors, did anyone get off the station?" Daenub nodded "We detected several escape pods but we haven't recovered them yet, The pods we detected could only hold a few dozen, there are hundreds aboard the station including families"  
Picard motioned to the helm "Set course for Cymkoe IV, I hope we're not too late" Daenub looked more hopeful at the promised assistance of the Federation Flagship "Thank you Captain, I hope you arrive in time" Picard nodded "We'll do our best Picard out" Picard turned back to his chair as the screen was replaced by streaked stars once more "Dr Crusher?" The Enterprise's computer routed his call down to sickbay where the good doctor was often found " _Crusher here"_ Picard sat down in his chair as he began explaining the situation to her "Doctor we may shortly be taking on a large number of wounded – possibly hundreds" He could hear the movement over the comm as Crusher began mobilizing her teams " _How much time have I got?_ " Picard sighed "Not enough im afraid, Picard out" There was one more member of the crew that he had to consult "Mr La Forge" the Comm switched from Sickbay to Engineering " _Yes Captain_ " Picard began summing up the situation once more "We are en route to Mertens Orbital Station, they've been attacked and they are going to need immediate assistance, see what you can find out about their experimental power core"  
If anyone could figure out the mechanics of the Mertens Power Core it would be Geordi La Forge

" _I'll see what I can dig up but the Cymkonians do some advanced work, it may take a while to figure it all out"_ Picard was usually patient with his crew but this time he couldn't be, the situation didn't allow for it "Then I suggest you work quickly, Millions of lives on the planet surface may be at stake, I expect a full analysis of the situation and our options as soon as we're within range"  
Picard felt the vibration as the Enterprise gently turned away from the Horst System and increased speed to try and reach Cymkoe IV in time  
-

The Mertens Orbital Station spun slowly around with it's experimental power core at its base expanding and contracting in time to some unseen rhythm  
The Enterprise approached the station maintaining a safe distance from the potential disaster  
"Captain's Log – We have arrived at the Cymkoe System in response to a distress call regarding Mertens Orbital station, the station was apparently attacked by unknown forces leaving it in danger of a power core breach"  
Data was first to speak on the arrival at Mertens orbital station "We are within sensor range of the Mertens Orbital Station sir" The Mertens Orbital Station appeared on the screen of the bridge  
"Mr La Forge" it was time for an Engineering assessment of this " _La Forge here_ " Picard stared out at the damaged station "Report what is the condition of the station" La Forge took a breath before saying "Your looking at what's left of the Mertens Orbital Station, one of the largest research centers in the Federation, The focus of their work is on power generation, five years ago they built a prototype of an experimental power core and it's been running the station ever since" Commander Riker raised an eyebrow at that "Power Generation Studies? That doesn't warrant an assault like this" Picard frowned before answering the question "I've been in contact with starfleet headquarters, power generation is only part of what this station studies, for several years researchers here have been working on new ways to detect cloaked vessels" Worf's original theory of the Romulans attacking looked more likely to him "If the Romulans discovered this, they might have risked a raid, the Cymkonians did not detect the attacking ship.. it may have been cloaked" Picard shook his head "That's speculation Mr Worf, we have no proof the Romulans are involved"  
As the Station spun around an area of Mertens Orbital was clearly damaged and glowed from the light of the station's power core, an explanation came forth from La Forge " _Well whoever it was something powerful punched through the station's shields and sliced off an entire research wing"  
_ The crew all looked concerned at this with Riker voicing the collective question "what do you mean sliced off?" Data scanned the immediate area around the station "There is insufficient debris in the area to indicate that the missing area was destroyed, it is possible the attackers simply removed it" A missing section should certainly cause problems "Geordi could that be what destabilized the power core?" La Forge ran through all his research on the station " _No and that's what I can't figure out damage to the upper decks should only cause minor problems, but im reading serious power fluctuations, maybe serious enough to breach the power core's containment field"_ Riker again became the collective voice of the bridge "What will happen if the Containment Field fails?" it was obvious it would be bad but the crew needed to know how bad " _I can't say for certain but with the amount of energy that thing puts out I wouldn't want to be around it when it goes"_  
Picard stared at the pulsing core once more "Is there anyway to shut down the core"  
La Forge replied instantly " _There's a fail safe mechanism which is supposed to jettison the core automatically in an emergency"_ Riker paced slightly as the glow from the station got a little brighter "I'd say this qualifies as an emergency why wasn't the core jettisoned" again La Forge was quick to respond obviously he was more sure on this area of the situation _"The only way to prevent it is by manual override, someone has to be there to stop it"_ The implication in the statement was obvious "That means there is someone still alive down there – Data are you picking up any life signs" the androids hand blurred as he quickly interacted with the console "The station's shielding is interfering with our sensors, however life support is still functional but power readings indicate it may fail at any time" Picard nodded and tapped his combadge "Dr Crusher"  
 _"Crusher here"_ Picard tugged on his shirt as he focused on the matter at hand "We are approaching Mertens Station are you prepared for casualties" Picard almost certainly knew the answer but it never helped to check " _My staff are ready to do double shifts, we can handle about 330 emergency cases, but we will have to beam the rest down to Cymkoe"_ Picard's faith in his crew was once again justified "Understood" He said cutting off the link to sickbay, he turned to Riker "Hmm what is your recommendation" the Commander looked at his Captain determinedly "We can't do anything from here but to get an away team aboard, we have to find a way through those shields" Data overhearing turned from his console "I believe I have a solution, The station's upper shields are badly damaged if we establish a lock on a transporter on the upper decks, a transporter beam could penetrate the weakened shields" Riker nodded and smiled "Once we're in we're should be able to jettison the power core, then we can lower the station's shields and evacuate the wounded – Geordi I want you and the rest of the away team ready to go in twenty minutes"  
Geordi responded as Riker and Worf headed for the turbolift " _We'll be there in ten"  
_ -  
The transporter beam resolved from the familiar sight of the Enterprise's transporter room to that of the Mertens Orbital Station Transporter Room, Riker motioned for the foursome to head out of the transporter room cautiously into a large circular cavernous space which connected the various parts of the station together  
the foursome crossed one by one across a walkway bridge towards a central point and as they came down the ramp they saw a large cable collapsed across the floor leading down into the central cavity of the station underneath the large cable was a small woman trapped from the waist down  
Dr Crusher ran to her side and pulled a Medical Tricorder from her lab coat pocket  
"She's got multiple fractures in both legs, the bones in the lower part of her left leg are shattered, she's in shock and there's some internal bleeding – all things considered she's very lucky, I can take care of the worst of her injuries here but i'd like to get her to sickbay" Riker pulled out his normal tricorder and ran it over the cable "It's a data transfer line, the end shows signs of contact with a phased energy beam" La Forge came over and checked the readings for himself "This Cable's built for handling information not energy, im surprised it didn't just vaporize when it was hit" Riker motioned for the team to step back before he drew his phaser and fired at the top of the cable he began cutting down the cable slowly with the orange beam before he stopped just before he got towards the prone woman "I can't cut any closer without endangering her" La Forge pondered the problem – the cable needed to be removed to treat the trapped crewman as well as allow the away team to continue onwards "I've been thinking about how to free her, what if we used the station's transporter to remove the cable?" The team headed back at a quick pace towards the transporter room where La Forge took position at the console of the station's transporter system  
he began transferring co-ordinates from Riker's tricorder to the console which flashed up a message  
 **33549.86673.22175  
Target Locked  
Ready to Energize**  
Riker nodded at La Forge who pressed the energize key and they all watched as a sparkly transporter effect came over the transporter pad which quickly resolved into the Data Transfer Cable

The quartet immediately raced back to the trapped crewman who was now mostly uncovered but still prone  
Crusher got to her side and opened her medical kit and prepared a hypospray and other equipment before finally announcing "That takes care of the worst of her injuries, she's coming around now"  
The woman's head rolled round before trying to prop herself up on her side given that her legs are shattered "How do you feel?" The blonde haired woman took a look around her before saying "I'll manage, your from Starfleet aren't you"  
Crusher nodded gently "Yes we're from the Enterprise, try not to move – I've stopped the bleeding and given you something for the pain but your legs are in bad shape" The woman then turned to her legs as if she was just noticing them "Hmm, your right, multiple fractures, probable lacerations – I'm Ana Benyt – Chief Medical Officer, we've got a lot of wounded here, some worse off than me, how many can you evacuate?" Crusher held up a hand to calm the woman "Our sick bay can handle any emergency cases, the rest we can beam down to the planet but we can't begin transport until we lower the station's shields – how many wounded are there" The woman furrowed her brow before saying "I can't give you an accurate count but the first attack destroyed an entire wing, I was headed for sickbay when we were hit again" Crusher continued gently probing "Do you know who or what did this?" Benyt shook her head "We never knew what hit us, there was an initial attack which lasted maybe 10 minutes, later there was a hull breach and the power systems went crazy, I dont remember anything after that, I passed out" Crusher was no engineer but the rest of the away team was listening and since the woman was focusing on her "What did you mean when you said the Power Systems went crazy" Benyt looked disgusted for a moment "It's this insane experiment Dr Griems and some of the other researchers put in place – a revolutionary power source – it's unstable enough to begin with but after sustaining damage like this who knows what it'll do" Crusher remembered the quick briefing that Riker had given the team as they headed towards the Transporter "We've picked up some rather large power fluctuations, is that normal?" Benyt shook her head once more this time in frustration "How should I know – those manics, you know what they've got down there, they plugged the biggest research station in the quadrant into a singularity – A Black Hole!" A black hole would make things extremely difficult if true but basic science gave Crusher a new question "Then why the instability, I thought most singularities were stable" Benyt took on a look of frustration once more as if she had argued this point with others before "Griems came up with some scheme to increase the energy output, something about gravity waves, I don't know all the details but it involved destabilizing the containment field" Crusher looked around the central deck but saw no one else and no one had come to meet the Away Team "Where's the rest of the crew, I can't believe they just left you here injured like this" Benyt looked thoughtful at that "Many of them probably escaped when Commander Wilde gave the order to evacuate after the first attack, but I know many are trapped and can't reach the shuttle bays"  
That was all Crusher had to ask of the woman and reassured her by saying "We'll get you beamed out of here as soon as possible, don't try to move you may aggravate your injuries" Benyt took a quick playful look at Crusher "Thank you doctor im aware of that, I'll stay put" Crusher gave a smile at that "Well then i'll trust your professional judgment, we'll be back once we've restored life support and lowered the shields" Benyt went to grab Crusher looking concerned at her statement "Wait a minute, Life support is failing, what's wrong with it, it wasn't damaged in the attack" Crusher looked at the others and back to Benyt "Main Power is fluctuating so wildly that it's disrupting the life support systems" She was looking to La Forge to make sure she was correct before Benyt replied "I warned them about using an inherently unstable power source but I never thought it would come to this"  
Crusher kept looking back between the two as she came to reply "We can probably stabilize life support if we can switch to emergency power" Benyt nodded in thought and took several moments before saying "The only place you can do that is in station administration and you'll need the security code to access the emergency systems, its 334L42"  
The team reluctantly were forced to leave Benyt behind as they headed deeper into the station coming to a small turbolift, the team entered the turbolift and were greeted by a computer voice "Please select a level – Administration or Engineering" Riker looked to La Forge who had a decision to make which did they hit first – Life Support or the Power Core "Administration" and with that the turbolift began its climb upwards towards the administration section  
The Administration section was abandoned by the time the team arrived, the team spread out and took a look for the emergency  
It took them several moments to do so during which time they saw that a lot of the systems were offline due to the power issues or slightly damaged like the holo table  
La Forge eventually found the console they needed which asked them to input a code, La Forge remembered the code given to them by Dr Benyt and he input that specific code which unlocked the console allowing them to redirect the power needed  
La Forge found Life support and punched a button on the console resulting in the following message appearing on the screen  
 **Life Support disconnected from main power  
Operating on Emergency Power only  
Life Support is stable at minimum levels**  
La Forge turned and smiled at Commander Riker who returned it and nodded his head back towards the turbolift, this time they were heading down the station towards it's core and engineering  
When they arrived they all drew their phasers...  
"I'd say we found our intruder" Riker said as the team cautiously left the turbolift  
A large device was hovering above the floor with a lava coloured beam connecting it to the power conduits of Mertens Station, La Forge pulled his tricorder and scanned the device only for the scanning device to tell him that before him was naturally occurring debris  
"It's – Wait a minute, I had readings of a neutronium hull and internal energy but now all I can pick up is natural elements, it's sending false readings to our tricorders, it's like a chameleon – it disguises itself perfectly, if we weren't here to see it, we'd never know it was here, it could probably fool our ship's sensors just as easily – this chameleon field seems to take a fraction of a second to adjust to new scanning frequencies.. If I set the tricorder to randomly shift frequencies at high speed..." The tricorder carried out the modified scan rapidly shifting it's scanning frequencies until it came back with a result "There getting a partial reading now" The tricorder scan this time revealed that the device was warp capable and highly armed which caused the team to holster their phasers since the device had shown no signs of aggression, the tricorder also revealed that the beam connecting the device to the conduit was a plasma suspension beam  
"Yep, its a neutronium hull all right and a powerful energy source, i've never seen that much power in such a small package before" The Device blocked the way to main engineering leaving only a room marked Lab 4

entering the room revealed a large rack of tools and several consoles, La Forge looked at two of the tools and pocketed them and gave Riker a look as if to say ''These are useful'' eventually he moved on to one of the consoles closest to the doors  
The console controlled the power flow to the conduits outside, La Forge shut down the power to the conduits and a large sound echoed and rumbled throughout the station  
Moments later the device exited the station and sped away at an impressive speed past the Enterprise and towards a heading unknown  
"La Forge to Enterprise did you pick that up?" Captain Picard was the one to answer him _"We've detected a small object departing the station at high speed, sensors identify it as a small asteroid"_  
La Forge looked incredulous "You've got to be kidding" Picard's dry response showed the same conclusion that the tricorder had earlier _"Apparently this object is capable of sending false reading to our sensors"_ La Forge filled his Captain in on the situation  
"That Asteroid is a sophisticated device, it's using a chameleon field to send false readings to the sensors" If The Device was capable of fooling the Enterprise then it was no wonder that Mertens Orbital or Cymkoe was unable to detect it _"Interesting... The object has accelerated to Warp Speed"_ The team now had to decide if to chase the device and ignore the station's plight or abandon the device and continue their work on the station...  
"I'd like to chase it down but the station isn't stable yet, see how long you can track it"  
The team now entered the central engineering room where the Device was no longer present  
they moved across the circular deck towards the core control room...  
"You have an uncanny sense of timing" The voice came from a man in a green uniform hunched over a nearby console, La Forge turned to him "I Beg your pardon?" The man didn't look away from the console "Timing I said you have fine timing, the one instant I cannot afford to be distracted and in barges all of Starfleet" La Forge shook his head at the man's personal response to the help that the Enterprise team was offering, the man must be Merten's Chief researcher Dr Griems "We're from the Enterprise, we're here to help" Griems sneered at him "Thanks for the offer but I don't have time to instruct Starfleet in the intricacies of singularity drive power generation, so kindly stop distracting me!" La Forge took a deep breath not to react personally to the man's abrasive personality "Dr Griems, i'm the Chief Engineer on a Galaxy class starship, it's my job to work miracles" Griems took several seconds to think about it before slightly toning his personality down "Have you ever seen a system like this before" La Forge thought about all the systems that he had seen over the years he had served on the Enterprise "I'm not sure – It looks like some kind of Gravity wave power source but how can you generate gravity waves of this magnitude"  
Griems smiled at that "a little something I got from the Romulans... we've got an artificial singularity bottled up down there and by varying the strength of the containment field I was able to increase the magnitude of the gravity waves" La Forge's mind raced through the technical implications of the set up they had down here "But now that something's got the energy flow out of phase with the containment field... whoo... we've got to get the energy flow back in phase immediately" Griems chuckled at that "Not bad for a Starfleet officer – Hmm you may be some use after all, you see the only reason the field's held up this long is because i've been here manually compensating for the fluctuations" La Forge checked the readings on Griems Console "But according to these readings your losing ground, the fluctuations have been getting wilder every minute" Griems gave another sneer "If you think its bad now watch what happens when I stop compensating but in order to dampen the fluctuations and bring them back in phase, i'd have to access one of the damaged conduits" La Forge nodded in a knowing smile "Sounds like you could use an extra pair of hands, listen i'll handle the conduit, you maintain the containment field"  
Griems's hands kept moving fast over the console as he did just that "I'll keep the containment field up as long as I can – I see you already have a wave reduction converter and a phase inverter good you'll need them" La Forge saw that Griems had noticed the two tools he had picked up but La Forge couldn't understand how one of them could help in this situation "A Phase Inverter? But that'll make the fluctuations reverse unless... ahh! If we use the wave reduction converter to dampen them, the reversal will actually work in our favour!" Griems nodded as he waved La Forge away "Smarter than you look install the phase inverter coupling in the damage area then use the wave reduction converter to bring the fluctuations down if I can keep the containment field up we should make it" La Forge and the rest of the team left Griems and returned to the Circular deck once more  
Riker motioned for La Forge to take the lead and the Engineer moved to the damaged conduit where the Device had been connecting to the station's power grid, he pulled the Phase Inverter and installed it in the breach of the conduit where it clicked into place before then activating the Wave reduction converter  
The station reverberated with a new sound followed by a positive noise coming from the power core  
La Forge smiled to the team and tapped his combadge "Enterprise – we've stabilized the power core the outer shields should be lowered now"  
 _"Confirmed we'll begin evacuating the wounded immediately"_ That meant that at least Dr Benyt would be rescued now at least and treated "Good we're all done here... Beam us up"  
A few seconds passed before the familiar tingly transporter effect surrounded them once more and took the Away team from Mertens Orbital Station...  
it took sometime after the team had returned to the ship before the Enterprise had completed the evacuation and medical care of the wounded  
On the bridge Captain Picard was talking to Chancellor Daenub "Captain Picard, you have my warmest thanks, we had really given up hope" Picard smiled as he received the thanks of the Chancellor "We are pleased to have been able to help, have you recovered all the pods yet?"  
The Chancellor nodded "My staff tell me all the evacuees are safe and sound and my compliments to your medical staff, our surgeons are quite impressed with Doctor Crusher's handiwork" Picard kept up his smile with the praise for his crew "I'll pass that along, the last of the injured personnel should be beamed down within the hour" the Chancellor finally smiled "I think we can handle it from here by the way Dr Griems personally extends his gratitude he felt he owed you and your crew an apology" Picard had heard about the man from the away team "Tell him... we accept his apology – Picard out"  
Almost an hour later The Enterprise left the Cymkoe System and warped away back towards it's original course of Horst III where Shanok awaited


End file.
